Thursday, September 13, 2012

You can imagine my surprise when the Dali Lama himself
called to ask if I could accompany him, as his translator, on an urgent and
secret visit to North Korea. I accepted immediately and was curious to find out
more about the trip. I learned that on January 8, 2012 an organization called
the International
Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea had sent an open letter
to Kim Jong-un, the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea. The letter expresses condolence on the passing of his father
Kim Jong-il,
congratulates the young new leader as he assumes his duties, and raises concerns
about a long list of human rights violations occurring throughout the country.

The accusations in the letter infuriated the Supreme Leader,
and he demanded immediate and violent revenge on the many signatories to the
letter.In an attempt to placate the
enraged leader, the Dali Lama offered to meet with him, hear his grievances,
and do what he could to resolve the conflict.

“Both Kim and I were thrust into leadership at a very young
age, facing great challenges while our countries were being ravaged by dangerous
and violent conflicts” His Holiness explained to me. “We will have much in
common to talk about. But I must listen much and talk little.” And listen we
did …

“My most important purpose here is to listen and understand
what you want to tell me” began the Dali Lama, when we finally met privately
with Kim. “I’ll spend as much time or as
little time as you want meeting with you. We can meet as often as you want. Our
meetings will be entirely private; nothing you say here will be repeated to
anyone. I want to understand your viewpoint and what your concerns are. When
you are ready, please begin. What’s on your mind? “

Kim unleashed a tirade. He ranted incessantly about the
immense difficulties he faces, how hard he works, the lack of appreciation he
receives, how his greatest love is for the welfare of his people, and how hard
his people work for the good of the nation. He renounced the accusations in the
coalition letter point by point and in immense detail. “Who are these people
writing to me? What do they know? Don’t they realize how hard I work? Why do
they blame me? This is just another part of the international conspiracy to
shame me and attack my people.Look how
many cowards signed the letter. Why are they ganging up on me? Don’t they know
I put traitors in prison only so the loyal people of our great country are not
harmed by these thugs? We face great threats from so many people in so many
nations outside our country who do not understand us and want to harm us. The
United States alone has thousands of nuclear weapons atop missiles aimed at our
small and peace-loving country. Yet they denounce us as the axis of evil. How can that be? We need a great army to protect
our tiny nation from so many threats. This is very costly, but we all
understand the need and are willing to make the sacrifice. Our people encourage
the military by showing their great love for this country and their unwavering
loyalty to our cause. After supporting our military with their donations,
sacrifices, and loyalty, not much else is left for the hard working people of
our country.The peasants choose to go
hungry so our military has what it needs to protect us against so many
belligerent nations. What else can we do?”

The Dali Lama sat quietly, listened closely, nodded gently,
and spoke rarely. Occasionally his Holiness would carefully reflect, clarify,
and affirm what he was hearing by simply stating “You are angry.” Knowing he
was being heard encouraged Kim to continue.

The Dali Lama radiates calm and compassion. Kim Jong-un, not
so much, but after days of listening and accurately reflecting what Kim had to
say, the young leader began to trust the gentle old man. Compassion was
beginning to make inroads.

After days of patiently listening, the Dali Lama asked his
first question. “The letter mentions the Kwan-li-so. I am curious to
learn more about that.”

“These are rehabilitation centers my father and grandfather worked
to create,” Kim began to explain. “Many outsiders are entering our country,
misleading our people, telling lies, and producing discontent. We need to find
out who these enemies are, and who has been misled by them. We will not
tolerate traitors working against our good people.”

Kim went on to explain, “The traitors in these
rehabilitation centers have betrayed their Leader and thus deserve
execution.However our kind Workers’
Party has decided, in its mercy, not to kill, but to keep alive these people and
allow them to repay the nation for their treachery by providing rehabilitating
labor for the rest of their lives. We teach these traitors collective
responsibility where individuals ultimately take responsibility for their own
class’s wrong doing. We help them learn by allowing them to carve inspiring excerpts
from my Grandfather’s speeches into wood signs and door entrances. We expect
much work of these traitors. To encourage them we reduce their food rations if
they fall behind in their rehabilitation duties.”

“When a dentist fixes a toothache, he must dig deep and
remove all the disease so the infection does not recur. Many of these people
have been taught treachery and disloyalty over several generations” Kim explained.
“Therefore we retain three generations of family members and provide
rehabilitation to all of them so we can properly educate everyone who may have
been wrongly influenced. This is very costly to our government, but it seems to
be the only way we can protect our people from those who are determined to destroy
our simple way of life. “

“Have you ever visited the Kwan-li-so rehabilitation centers
and spoken to any of the people there?” asked the Dali Lama.

Kim suppressed his outrage, thought for some time and
responded, “The duties of a great leader are great indeed. I spend my time with
the loyal people struggling to protect and serve our country. I have no time
for traitors. I do, however, take time to listen to reports from the courageous
men running the rehabilitation centers. They tell me of the enormous struggle
they are enduring to reeducate these ungrateful traitors.

“With your permission, I would like to travel to a
Kwan-li-so rehabilitation center, meet with some of the detainees, and learn
more about your approach to rehabilitation. Would that be possible?” asked the
Dali Lama.

Kim was surprised by this request, thought about it for some
time, and responded, “Go ahead, visit the traitors, I will send a military unit
along to protect you. Learn what you can and tell the world of our great
struggle. “

“Thank you for your sincere kindness and generosity. I have
learned much from you. I look forward to visiting the rehabilitation centers. Is
there any chance you would be willing to join me and meet some of the traitors
who are threatening your country?You
could teach them yourself. It could have a great and lasting impact.”

About Me

Curiosity, creativity, analysis, and systems thinking form the basis for my career. Professional interests include software development, system analysis, new product development, quality management, and Internet content networking.